


Tell Him.

by thelunaticAword



Category: Impractical Jokers
Genre: F/M, Impractical Jokers - Freeform, Prompt works, Sal vulcano - Freeform, a little angsty, totally fluffy at the end, trutv ij
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 04:26:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12573656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelunaticAword/pseuds/thelunaticAword
Summary: After sleeping with one of her friends, who very clearly isn't interested in a relationsip, Talia leaves to clear her head. When she comes back, will they forgive her?(i suck at summaries I swear the story is at least half good haha)





	Tell Him.

**Author's Note:**

> I typed this up 3 times. I had at least a thousand words each time and just deleted all of it. For some reason this idea just wouldn't come to me. I don't know. I feel like it turned out okay in the end. Unbetad, all mistakes are my own. I tried to fix them all, but I'm not perfect *shrugs* let me know if you find any errors!

“Are you ever going to tell him?” Joe Gatto asked Talia as he handed her drink to her. Being back in Staten Island brought back too many memories; some happy, some not so much. When Talia stepped off the airplane, she had no idea where she would go. She still rented her apartment but didn’t want to be alone just yet.

She called Joe and asked if she could stay with him. Two hours later, she was drinking a beer on his porch.

“Now isn’t the time, Joe.”

“Why come back, if not to fix things?” Talia knew Joe was concerned, for her sake and for Sal’s.

 “Joey, I never wanted this to happen, you know that? I had no idea how he felt until it was too late. I had already hurt him by the time I knew.”

“It happened, and instead of dealing with it, you disappeared for two months. You don’t think the guy deserves some explanation?”

Instead of answering, Talia watched the lights as they bounced off the water. She knew eventually she would run into Sal, there was no way around it. When she did, she wanted to be able to explain her actions, explain her leaving with no trace. She thought back to how things happened and wondered if she could have done anything differently to prevent this.

_Sal’s lips are on hers, pushing her against the door to his bedroom. She tries to think, tries to tell herself this is a bad idea but all she could think about was the feeling of Sal’s lips on hers, his fingers digging into the skin of her hips. Without warning, Sal lifts her expertly and opens the door. Carrying her to bed, his lips never leave hers._

_When Sal laid her on the bed, she knew she should push him away. She wasn’t a one-time kind of girl and Sal wasn’t a relationship kind of guy. This was headed for heartbreak and it was headed there fast. Instead, she gripped him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer._

Pulling herself from her memory, Talia felt the tears begin welling up in her eyes. She couldn’t bear to remember any more from that night. It had been one of her happiest memories and she tarnished it by breaking both of their hearts. Her train of thoughts went to the following morning. She tries to think of how she could have done things, how it would have worked out. If only she knew then what she knows now. If only.

_Waking up wrapped in Sal’s arms was a dream come true. Talia enjoyed the feeling for a few moments before the panic set in. Shit shit shit, she thought to herself as she carefully extricated herself from Sal’s grip. How the hell did this happen?_

_As she gathered her clothing from around the bedroom, she spared a glance at Sal. Her heart ached, knowing this was all she would ever have of him. He wasn’t in love with her and she was in love with him. This would change their whole friendship, her friendship with the group. Oh god, what about Joe? I can’t do this to him._

_As soon as she was dressed, she headed straight for her apartment and packed her bags. She texted Joe, claiming she had a family emergency and that she had to fly back to her home town as soon as possible. Without waiting for a text message back, she shut her phone off, grabbed her bag and headed out the door, not looking back._

If only she had been thinking with her brain and not her breaking heart, things would have been different. The tears were falling freely now and Joe had her wrapped up in his arms, trying to comfort her the best he could.

“Joey,” Talia managed between heavy gasps, “I’ve thought about a hundred different ways I could have handled it. I have. You don’t understand how scared I was. I can’t change things now.”

“Why can’t you,” Joe asked, putting some distance between them so they could see each other’s faces. When blue eyes met green he continued, “just call him. Tell him you’re back in town and ask if you can talk. If he says no, at least you tried. If he says yes, well, you’ll both get some kind of closure.” Joe left Talia alone with her thoughts then, giving her time to think over her decision.

She wanted so badly to call Sal, to hear his voice, to see him. She wanted things to go back to before they slept together, before things got so thrown out of order. Knowing he probably wouldn’t answer if she called, she decided to send him a text message.

**_“Sal,”_** Talia began the messages but her fingers froze over the keyboard. What was she supposed to say? Did he still have her number? He texted her a few times the first week but when she didn’t answer she assumed he got tired of her antics and deleted her number. If only she’d known why he was texting, that he truly cared, that he felt the same as her, she would have been back on a plane to New York as soon as she landed in Tennessee. She settled for simplicity and to the point.

**“Sal, I’m back in New York and I was wondering if we could talk? I have a lot to explain but I understand if you don’t want to see me. I can explain it all through text if you want. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please consider talking to me. I owe you an explanation.”** As Talia hit send, she downed her beer and headed inside to grab another one. Joe never kept beer in the house, but made an exception for her. On the way home from the airport she had asked him to stop and she grabbed a case of her favorite beer.

Instead of grabbing just one, Talia grabbed two beers and a blanket from the couch. Settling in on the deck chair, she wrapped the blanket around her and stared out over the water. She was exhausted, from her flight and from crying. Before she was halfway through her second beer, the other sitting on the table unopened, she was fast asleep.

When Talia woke up, there was a second blanket draped over her and the beer bottles from the night before were gone. Checking the time on her phone, she realized it was just now 8 am. Rubbing her eyes and stretching out her sore back, she decided to fold the blankets up and head inside. Setting the blankets on the couch, she headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Joe and Bessy were sitting at the table with Milana and Remington, feeding the little ones their breakfast. As Talia grabbed her cup of coffee she ruffled Milana’s hair and smiled at Bessy as she held Remington’s bottle.

“Sleep well,” Joe asked, knowing damn well she slept like crap.

“Oh fabulous. Didn’t you know lawn chairs are great for sleeping?” Talia laughed as she sat down next to the family of four. “I’m heading to my apartment today. Figured it could use some airing out.”

“Anything you need, we will help.” Talia smiled over her cup of coffee and nodded at Joe. When she was done, she washed her cup and placed it on the drying rack. She hugged Joe and waved goodbye to Bessy and the kids as she walked out the door.

 

Stepping foot into her apartment for the first time in two months was odd. It felt like coming home but it also came with a feeling of dread. As she walked through the rooms opening windows, all she could see was herself packing and leaving. She straightened up the living room, hung the clothes she brought home with her up and went to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge was a mistake, as all the food inside had gone bad. Cleaning out the fridge of everything, she left the door open as she carried the bag outside to the dumpster. As she struggled to lift the bag high enough to toss away, hands came out of nowhere to help her lift it. Startled, she dropped the bag and gasped when she saw who was helping her.

“What are you doing here?” Talia managed to catch her breath but she couldn’t stop her heart from hammering behind her ribs.

“You texted me and said you wanted to talk.” The garbage bag lay on the ground forgotten as Talia took in the sight of Sal. He was wearing tennis shoes with dark jeans and her favorite purple button up. She had never told him it was her favorite, but it just looked so good on him. “You never answered when I texted back. So I called Joe to find out if you were there. He said you went home, so here I am.”

Talia still couldn’t find words. The feelings she had tried so hard to forget came rushing to the surface and she found herself struggling to control her emotions. All the pain, confusion, and anger came rushing back and she had to lean on the fence surrounding the dumpster to hold herself up.

“I’m sorry. You startled me.” Picking the trash bag back up, she allowed Sal to help her throw it away. “You, uh, wanna come up? It’s not the cleanest as I’ve been gone for a while, but,” she trailed off and waited for Sal’s answer. When he just nodded, she turned on her heel and headed back to her apartment.

Shutting the door behind Sal, headed for the kitchen and shut the refrigerator door. Sal gave her a confused look but Talia just shrugged. Standing there across from Sal, all she wanted to do was run into his arms and beg his forgiveness. Instead, she held her ground and was about to speak when Sal beat her to it.

“Who told you?”

“I’m sorry?” It was Talia’s turn to look confused.

“Who told you about my feelings?”

“Oh, uh,” she pushed her hair behind her ear as she thought about whether to tell him the truth or not. She decided she’d caused enough problems and went with the truth. “Q told me.”

“Did you talk to everyone but me?” Talia could hear the hurt in his voice and couldn’t bear to meet his eyes. Instead she stared at the ground, thinking carefully on her next words.

“I only kept in close contact with Joe. Q texted me every now and then and I barely talked to Murr. I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me.  I didn’t know until almost a month after I left and by then, it was too late.” She was still looking at the ground so she wasn’t able to see Sal walking around the kitchen island to stand right in front of her. Gently lifting her chin with his finger, he made her look at him.

“It wasn’t too late. I knew, when I woke up and you were gone, I was heartbroken. But once Joe explained everything, I understood. But then you wouldn’t answer my messages or calls and you were still talking to Joe and Q and just. I thought Joe had everything wrong.”

“No, I’m sorry Sal. I have thought of a hundred ways to go back and fix things but I can’t and I’m sorry for that. If it’s any consolation, I was hurting just as bad. I can’t tell you how much I missed you. I thought about calling you every day, but I just couldn’t…” Before Talia could finish her train of thought, Sal was kissing her, slow and gentle at first.

The moment his lips touched hers, all the emotions that had been threatening to overwhelm her came to a head. As she kissed back, she felt the tears sliding down her cheeks. Instead of pull away, Sal wrapped his arms around her waist and held her as tight as was comfortable. Standing there in her kitchen, Sal’s tongue exploring her mouth, her arms around his neck, everything felt right. The need for air became too much, so Talia pulled away from the kiss but kept her forehead pressed to Sal’s.

“I need to hear you say it,” Sal spoke against her cheek. She knew what he meant, needing to say those words for the last two months.

“I love you Sal, and I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. We’re together now okay?” Talia just nodded and rested her head against his chest, enjoying the feeling of being held by him again.

“I thought I ruined everything. The day we slept together and then when I left, after I knew everything. I never thought I would get to have this again.”

“I’m here. As long as you’ll have me, I’m here.” Waiting for her to look at him, Sal kept quiet. When their eyes finally met, he continued, “I love you. I have for as long as I can remember. Forgiving you was easy. Forgetting you was impossible.”

Smiling Talia stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again. When they broke apart, she couldn’t stop smiling. Taking his hand, she led him to the sofa in the living room. When Sal was seated, she curled into his side and just enjoyed the warmth he gave off. They talked about everything and anything, with Talia apologizing at least four more times. Each time Sal told her it was okay, that they were together now, everything worked out but she still felt the pain of walking away every time she looked at him.

When the sun started to go down, Sal and Talia were still curled on the sofa, talking about everything that came to mind. Talia had stopped apologizing an hour ago, even if she still felt sorry. Both of them agreed that they would build on their relationship from here and take it as slow as they felt necessary.  When Talia next looked at the clock, it was reading almost eleven pm. Knowing she needed sleep, the stress of the day wearing her down, Talia decided to call an end to the day.

“I need to go to bed but I’m not ready for you to leave yet.” Sal smiled at her and held her hand as she stood and stretched.

“I’m not ready to let you go just yet, either.”

“Stay with me?” Sal wasn’t sure he heard her right, so he didn’t answer her immediately. Instead, he held her hand and stared at her. When he said nothing, Talia thought she overstepped a boundary and was instantly embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she began but Sal interrupted her.

“Say that again.”

“I’m sorry,” Talia said, confused. All night he’s been asking her to quit apologizing and now he’s asking her to apologize again?

“No, before that.” _OH._

“Stay with me?” Sal squeezed her hand and stood to follow her to the bedroom. As they undressed and got under the covers, Sal wrapped his arms around her and just held her. Being wrapped up in Sal’s arms again, Talia felt content. She knew they would be able to deal with what happened because they would deal with it together. Before they drifted off to sleep, he nuzzled against her hair and whispered “Forever.”


End file.
